New here and some questions.

[jencan]

Hello everyone. I am new here. This is my first time posting. I am also quite new to viewing the sky. I also noticed Mars last week, about two weeks after I got my first telescope. I got a Bushnell Northstar for my birthday. The best present! I had some questions about viewing. I expected it to look different. Is that normal for a planet to look different than expected? Also, every time I try to view a certain planet, it says it is on the horizon. Is there a good time for viewing? I live in Northeast Oklahoma and have been viewing around 9-10 pm. Thanks for any help.

 

[newtonian]

Jencan - Welcome!<br /><br />Others will post better responses than I. However, I can point you to a program called Starry Night, which SDC (= space dot com = www.space.com).<br /><br />Try a search on Starry Night.<br /><br />On different than expected, can you post what you expected and how what you actually saw through your telescope was different than expected?

 

[newtonian]

OK, see this current thread:<br /><br />http://uplink.space.com/showflat.php?Cat=&Board=askastronomer&Number=348721&page=0&view=collapsed&sb=5&o=0&fpart=1#Post349225<br /><br />And this link:<br /><br />www.heavensabove.com <br />

 

[jencan]

Thank you both!! As for different than expected, I expected to see what the pics look like in magazines, but what I really saw looked like an eyeball or a marble. The moon was what I expected. I saw craters and everything. I got extremely excited over that Isn't Mars the one called the Red Planet? Forgive me for showing my ignorance, but I am quite new and it has been a few years (more than I care to admit) since I have been in school Thanks for the warm welcome!

 

[newtonian]

Jencan - Your welcome!<br /><br />But, er, there is only one of me!<br /><br />Fascinating! I am more of an armchair astronomer - viewing those magazine (and also internet, TV, etc) images.<br /><br />I do not yet have a telescope.<br /><br />However, a friend does and now you have given me added incentive to take him up on joining him in the exciting views!

 

[jencan]

LOL!! My face is a bit red now. I did not even notice that until you said it. Oopsie It is absolutely phenomenal what you can see with a scope. I wanted one for years and begged for one. I guess I begged hard enough.

 

[jencan]

Thank you for that info!! I thought it was the one known as the red planet, but my luck it would not be

 

[igorsboss]

<font color="yellow">every time I try to view a certain planet, it says it is on the horizon</font><br /><br />Since Mercury and Venus orbit the sun inside the Earths orbit, they are never visible at Midnight.<br /><br />However, all of the other planets (Mars, Jupiter, Saturn) are visible at Midnight, but only for part of the year.<br /><br />I suggest you ponder these comments until you understand them fully. You won't need a telescope for this one.

 

[mariecurie]

Welcome from me too. Don't feel bad about making mistakes. We all make them; especially at first. There’s a lot to take in.<br />I hope you enjoy your new 'scope and posting on SDC. <br />I'm sure I speak for most of us when I say it is heartwarming to hear from someone as enthusiastic as you.<br />..<font color="yellow">close your eyes......Say, out loud: "I AM THE CENTER OF THE UNIVERSE"....open your eyes and look around you.<font color="white"> <br />Can you say it isn't so? <img src="/images/icons/cool.gif" /></font></font>

 

[CalliArcale]

<blockquote><font class="small">In reply to:</font><hr /><p>Since Mercury and Venus orbit the sun inside the Earths orbit, they are never visible at Midnight.<br /><br />However, all of the other planets (Mars, Jupiter, Saturn) are visible at Midnight, but only for part of the year.<br /><br />I suggest you ponder these comments until you understand them fully. You won't need a telescope for this one. <p><hr /></p></p></blockquote><br /><br />Flip side of that: only Mercury and Venus will show obvious phases when you look at them in a telescope. The others will all appear as disks. At most, you might see them look slightly gibbous.<br /><br />Mercury and Venus are sometimes called "inferior planets" and Mars-Pluto are sometimes called "superior planets". This has nothing to do with size and everything to do with location. Mercury and Venus are closer to the Sun than Earth, so they're "inferior", and ones further out are "superior". It's only relevant in terms of trying to observe them from Earth, because it tells you where they will be in the sky and how they will seem to behave over the course of a year.<br /><br />An interesting exercise (and one which doesn't require a telescope) is to map the visible planets in the night sky. Print out a whole-sky star map (one which shows black stars on a white background, preferably). Then, on the next clear night, mark where you see each of the planets. Or just pick one or two; that's fine too. Repeat the procedure a few nights later. Keep doing this for a few weeks and notice how their positions change relative to the background stars. If you keep it up, you'll start to notice something odd -- retrograde motion. The planets will describe a pattern called an epicycle, where they will move across the sky, then slow down, then start moving in the opposite direction for a while. Then they'll slow down again and go forwards for a while, speeding up. This is due to the relative motion between the Earth and whatever planet you're observing <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <p> </p><p><font color="#666699"><em>"People assume that time is a strict progression of cause to effect, but actually from a non-linear, non-subjective viewpoint it's more like a big ball of wibbly wobbly . . . timey wimey . . . stuff."</em>  -- The Tenth Doctor, "Blink"</font></p> </div>

 

[jencan]

Thank you MarieCurie. I appreciate that. I am extremely enthusiastic! I have taken my scope out every night since I got it, except for maybe two that the night was too cloudy or it was going to rain

 

[alokmohan]

unless you are confident of location of the planet you want to see,the matter is not systematised.And for that you must consult sky and telescope.